


Break

by ICouldntThinkOfAUsername



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Overworking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-20
Updated: 2018-08-20
Packaged: 2019-06-29 23:40:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,007
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15739668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ICouldntThinkOfAUsername/pseuds/ICouldntThinkOfAUsername
Summary: Keito Hasumi needs a break and Yuzuru knows one of the few places he can relax is the archery range.





	Break

**Author's Note:**

> A commission from last December.

When he had started dealing with live requests and other unit paperwork, classes had just gotten out for the day and Keito had been clear-minded and focused, his desk a well-structured manifestation of his internal work system. Energy drinks were piled neatly, only to be used in emergency situations during the dredge of repetitive and mindless work, and the forms were stacked neatly, properly organized thanks to Yuzuru in advance. With summer long gone, Souma was no longer there to accompany him and manage his study habits, and, if he were being honest with himself, the presence was sorely missed. Even if they passed time in silence, or with Souma going off about something before he promptly told him of the importance of work and the reason why he was there, at least sharing the student council room in the evenings with someone else forced him to keep track of the time…

The sun was low and setting in the windows behind the student council’s various desks by the state of Keito’s system had completely vanished. Papers were strewn, the timer he had initially held himself to turned off and pushed on the floor, and the empty cans piled haphazardly around where he seated both on the desk and on the floor. In this state, Keito ran his hands through his hair and tried to focus on the text in front of him. It was so simple, just a form, but the words were blurring together and were replaced by wandering thoughts he didn’t need right then. 

What was he passing down, behaving like this? He saw Mao work himself into the ground daily, and with every idiotic task that boy so willingly took on with a smile and a shrug he painfully had to see how he had grown up with Eichi over and over. And what was he, who had now grown past that point, passing down to the members of the student council? To Kanzaki? To archery club? Though he usually buried the panic that came with possibly approaching a situation at the wrong angle, the work was getting to him, and with no one left in the room to scold or otherwise diffuse the situation, he was left only with the growing shadows on the wall and the curse of his own thoughts. And the heart palpitations. Ah, when did he get so dizzy and when did the characters on the form blur to complete gibberish? It felt like someone was stepping on his chest and there was no way out, in that moment. 

He never noticed the door opening, and barely registered the rushed footsteps until someone’s hands were on his shoulders and shoving a water bottle in his face. He wanted to complain, but he could not get the words out with the pain he was experiencing.

“Vice President-sama, please, breathe.” Oh, that was Yuzuru’s voice. He could hardly tell, and as his eyes adjusted, he felt pricks of something wet on his cheeks. He hoped that was the bottle that Yuzuru kept gently prodding him with. What a disgrace he was making of himself. 

“Fushimi. Get that out of my face.” There was so little bite in his voice, but the concern on Yuzuru’s face made Keito feel some weird combination of irritation and gratitude as his panic attack started to resolve itself. “Set it down. I can drink on my own terms. I am not a child. Shouldn’t you have gone home with Himemiya hours ago?”

“The young master had forgotten his bag. I returned on my own to pick it up, since he did not wish to join me. However, shouldn’t I be asking you the same question, Vice President-sama?” Yuzuru kept his tone neutral and concerned, and it was probably for the best. Anyone else would have panicked or left, for the most part. But still, the desire to escape reached a new extreme when he was able to register that yes, in fact, the wetness he felt on his face was not from a failed drinking attempt. After such a personal crisis, the situation could only be more humiliating if Eichi himself had witnessed such a fall from grace. He had to get out of there before he could further disgrace himself, but when he tried to push himself out of his seat and excuse himself, Yuzuru gripped his shoulder with just enough force that Keito could not leave easily.

“These live forms had to be finished by tonight. And Isara had unit practice and commitments with basketball club. There are matters that need to be taken care of and I refuse to let them just sit, now, Fushimi, I am leaving!” 

“It is already late, isn’t it? Would you mind taking a detour with me? Ah, but maybe you should take a trip to the bathroom first. Are you capable of getting there on your own?”

Yuzuru’s words should have registered as condescending, but instead, they drove deep into him, and as soon as Yuzuru released his grip he stood up and walked out with his face buried in his hands. No one should see him like this…

~~~

He did not know how long he spent in the bathroom, staring blankly at himself in the mirror and swearing under his breath for this moment of weakness where his mind was fogged over, and his body was reacting to the sleep deprivation and the crash of caffeine and sugar. Facing Yuzuru again was the hardest stage of all, and a part of Keito prayed that he would have left so he could collect his things in peace and have a moment of solitude where he could swallow his emotions again and compose himself for the trip home.

But Yuzuru was by the door, and Keito could see that his mess had been tidied up, and the papers stacked neatly once again where they could wait to be filled tomorrow morning. His mind was still in a haze when Yuzuru presented his bag and the water bottle to him once again. 

“Please, drink more, and follow me. It may not be my place to say, Vice President-Sama, but I think you need a break.”

Keito had words in his throat about how he could manage on his own, and that he was going home, but they died with the worry in Yuzuru’s eyes, and he found himself following wordlessly anyways through familiar hallways to the empty archery range, empty and pristine besides for Little John’s food and water dishes, bathed in moonlight. 

“Shall I fetch your bow for you, Vice President-Sama?”

“Fine.”

“Understood.”

“Wait, Yuzuru?” Why did he say ‘wait?’ He had no other comments. He didn’t even wish to be here. He wished even less for the inconvenient, wet feeling on his cheeks again and seeing Yuzuru’s face turn to confusion and uncertainty when he buried his head in the vice president’s shoulders, removing his glasses to hide his crying face in Yuzuru’s uniform jacket. His voice sounded broken and unsure and he hated every second of it. He hated this entire evening. Why couldn’t he just be allowed to go home where he wasn’t forced to disgrace himself and show this idiotic vulnerability? What if news of it got back to Eichi somehow? How would he live it down? 

Yuzuru didn’t yell at him and it was almost worse. It meant shock could not take over and he was left pathetic and vulnerable as tried his best to cling to his last shred of dignity and self control.  
Yuzuru patted his back in an awkward attempt to comfort him, and Keito pushed him back away.

“You cannot tell anyone!” 

“What would I gain doing that to you, Vice President-sama? Please, give me a moment.”

Good. A moment was what he needed. Every single little insecurity and fear he had throughout the year seemed to be rearing their ugly heads all at once. It was like ripping the bandage off to reveal the still fresh wound underneath. He hadn’t even started preparing Souma to take over Akatsuki, nor had he come to terms about his complicated feelings regarding Eichi. If he had distracted himself from the difficult, interpersonal problems, just maybe they could go away on their own and he could blame the overwork for it. 

Yuzuru returned just when he reached the peak of his individual crises, offering a bow and what he assumed was his own archery equipment, if his own tabi on top of the neatly folded pile were any indication. 

“Please, get dressed,” He must have looked skeptical, because Yuzuru furrowed his brow and elaborated, “I’ve seen how much you relax after a hard day with target practice. It’s a comfortable place for you, isn’t it? It is for me as well.” Maybe that was so, but it was always in the bounds of club activities, and something about practicing just for fun bothered him. “You cannot continue pushing yourself the way you have lately. It has become more difficult to reach out to you, you are aware? Maybe you are not a pushover in the same way Isara-sama is, but isn’t it destructive to maintain this attitude to working, serving as a leadership figure in Akatsuki, and even club activities? Relationships are just as important, are they not? There’s only so much time in the day, but if you are forgoing the energy needed to deal with emotions and friendships with the idea of working instead… well, people are worried about you. My sincerest apologies for speaking out of turn, but is that the kind of role model you want to be?”

“… You did speak out of turn. See to it that it does not happen again. How I handle my personal life is none of your business.” His words had no bite to them, however, and it conflicted his actions as he grabbed his gear anyways and walked away so that Yuzuru could not see his face.

“My apologies, again, Vice President-Sama.” 

“If you are going to speak so personally to me, you no longer need to call me ‘Vice President-Sama.”

“Just for tonight, then, Hasumi-san.” 

Keito was thankful, once again, for the moment of privacy, because he was struggling to hide his expression.

They had changed in silence, with Yuzuru trailing behind him. It was not until they reunited on the field that Yuzuru broke the silence by locking an arrow into its slot in the bow and releasing the bowstring. It hit the very edge of the target, and he caught Yuzuru muttering something under his breath.

“It must not be the best day for me, as well.”

“Yuzuru, I know you have better form than that. I’m no fool. There is no way you could have forgotten your basics.”

“Well, maybe I need to be shown again. After all, Vice Pres--- Hasumi-san, you look your best when you lead in confidence.”

“I do not appreciate you faking to prove a point.” But, once again, his actions contradicted his movements, as he set down his own bow gently to stand behind his underclassmen, putting a guiding hand over Yuzuru’s to adjust his form. 

~~

By the time Keito had stopped helping, and started to shoot wordlessly on his own, his heart rate had decreased to match Yuzuru’s as they had moved in sync. His shoulders fell back into place, and Little John had joined their little, middle-of-the-night reverie curled up on the wood, resting as best as she could with her stomach growing larger by the day. Time seemed to stop, as he found comfort once again in helping Yuzuru when his form earnestly faltered once again. 

With his hands back on him, so close that he could feel the rise and fall of Yuzuru’s chest from behind him, Keito moved his arms out of position to wrap around Yuzuru’s waist, catching him off guard.

“Thank you, Yuzuru.”

“O…Oh… Of course, Hasumi-san. Let us do it again sometime, whenever you reach your limits.”

“Yes. I would like that.”


End file.
